Church protest: Selangor Umno pulls back, ‘agents’ to continue

He however reiterated Selangor Umno's stand on the Allah issue and the party's support of Thursday's raid on the Bible Society Malaysia.

SHAH ALAM: Whilst Umno Selangor has declared that it will not rally against the churches statewide tomorrow, its “agents” however are going ahead with their plans.

Selangor Umno liaison chief Noh Omar said today that it had instructed its members to stay away from any protests.

“We have asked our members to refrain from participating in any protests.

“The decision was made to avoid further misunderstanding among the rakyat over the issue, as well as to maintain harmony and freedom of religion in the state.

“In our battle over the issue of the word ‘Allah’, we are requesting that no rally or protest is organised near a church as this could threaten the harmony and freedom of religion in Selangor,” he said.

He however reiterated their stand on the Allah issue and the  party’s support  of  Thursday’s raid on the Bible Society Malaysia and the confistication of over 300 Al-Kitabs and Iban versions of the bibles bearing the term “Allah”.

Meanwhile several smaller NGOs allegedly ‘linked’ to Selangor Umno however said that they were going ahead with their plan tomorrow to protest outside the Lady of Lourdes church in Klang which is headed by Pastor Lawrence Andrew.

The  Klang Muslims Solidarity Secretariat said they will proceed with their rally against Christians tomorrow.

It s chairman, Mohd Khairi, said that his movement would not demonstrate directly oustide the church but at a nearby area.

On Dec 27, Andrew reportedly said the Catholic church would continue to use the word Allah during its Malay mass prayer despite the Selangor Islamic Religious Department’s (JAIS) reminder against its use by non-Muslims.

Previously, several Umno branches and Muslim NGOs in the state had planned to gather in front of churches in Selangor to protest against  Andrew, who is also The Herald’s editor, stand on the  the usage of the word ‘Allah’.

The gatherings was  aimed at pressuring the priest to rescind his statement and issue an open apology to Muslims, after he had been labeled as rude and treasonous towards the Selangor Sultan.

Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah had previously ordered for all rakyat, particularly Selangorians, to abide by the Non-Islamic Religions (Control of Propagation Amongst Muslims) Enactment No 1 of 1988 of Selangor, which forbids non-Muslims from uttering and publishing Arabic phrases, including ‘Allah’.

Bernama meanwhile reported a peaceful demostration by 50 representatives from two NGOs  in front of an apartment at Klang Jaya today.

The NGOs, Gerakan Belia 4B Kota Raja and Klang Jaya Apartment Residents Association, demanded that Andew accept the Court of Appeal ruling barring the use of the term and called for Jais to handle the situation quickly before it worsened.